Northumbrian Water clears the way for £2billion takeover

NORTHUMBRIAN Water has cleared the way for a £2billion-plus foreign takeover to start.

The firm confirmed earlier this month that it was the subject of interest from Far East-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI).

Now the board has accepted a “non-binding indicative proposal” of 465p a share, a move which values the firm at about £2.4billion and has agreed to grant CKI a limited period to go through the company accounts.

Under the terms of the proposal, Northumbrian Water shareholders will still get their final dividend of 9.57p per share, due in September.

The company emphasised there was no guarantee the takeover would go through, or what final price would be paid.